


On Farther Shores

by A_Writing_Pen



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age II
Genre: DAficswap, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-02
Updated: 2016-11-02
Packaged: 2018-08-28 13:38:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8448058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_Writing_Pen/pseuds/A_Writing_Pen
Summary: In a virtual reality game full of strangers, sometimes getting to know the person next to you may be the greatest gap to cross. Some short and small scenes of trying to close that gap. Virtual reality AU.Part of DAficswap.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [hollyand](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hollyand/gifts).



> For hollyand. I’m sorry this took so long and is so short. A lot things came up for me and rewrote most of what I had earlier, so I’m afraid this isn’t my best.

When Marian hit one of the raiders with her sword, she could feel the weight of the blow in her arms. The stench from her opponent’s sweat was another realistic touch, Marian thought, though the developers were careful not to include the reek of the fisheries and sewers they were currently fighting in. The recent update seemed to strive for realism, but not at the cost of the player comfort, and that made the both enjoyable but hollow in Marian’s mind.

To her right Aveline used her shield to deflect the blades of the other two raiders. They came to the docks on a standard retrieval mission; finding some old documents to earn a monetary reward from one of the chantry clerics. Honestly, if Marian hadn’t spent so much on the new set of armor she wouldn’t have bothered with the mission.

Marian bashed the raider again with her shield, knocking him off balance and followed up with a strike of her sword, ending him. Before the raider hit the ground, she turned to one of Aveline’s attackers and struck at his calf, taking his attention off Aveline and hobbling him at the same time. With one raider left from each of them, they made quick work of the remaining raiders.

“There’s a quest on Sundermount I could use your help with.” Aveline said after the fight was done and they had looted the bodies before they disappeared.

Without the obvious distraction, Marian could still make out the small tells in the game. The landscape was beautifully rendered, as best of a medieval fantasy realm any layperson could dream of, but it was too aesthetically perfect to be mistaken as real. She could see and smell sweat, but neither Aveline nor Marian were breathing heavy or felt as exhausted as they should have been. While the blows had a force, it wasn’t enough to cause pain like when Marian had been kicked in the rib. And of course there was the time keeper in the sky that told her she was late again.

“Shit,” Marian said.

“You have another date again?”

“I had a date 10 minutes ago.”

Aveline sighed. “The less I hear about it the better.”

Neither of them needed to be reminded how disastrous their last mission had been, not because they failed the quest, but because Isabella and Aveline had been bickering the entire time.

“Ok. How are things going with Donnic then?”

The look Aveline gave her could have caused hell to freeze over, but Marian had been the cause of it enough times that she just smiled smugly. The problem wasn’t Donnic, more that she hadn’t ever spoken with him outside of a four party group and a blind man could tell that she was deeply in love with him.

“I’ll ask Fenris or Varric to come with me. Now get out of here.”

 

 

The smell of sour liquor and piss told Marian had successfully loaded inside The Hanged Man. There was the usual crowd was milling about; the barkeep who only spoke when a drink was ordered, the drunk who wandered back and forth, and a series of forgettable faces she didn’t know. She scanned the room for familiar faces, for once Varric wasn’t there and Anders must have been tired of losing all his coin in card games.

What she did see was a crowded table towards the back of the tavern and at the center was a woman with a large hat reveling in her victory in a game of wicked grace. By a fluke she happened to turn back and see Marian. The bottle still in her hand, she waved it over ahead for Marian to see.

“I thought I would have to drink alone.” Isabella said when Marian took a seat after ousting the previous occupant.

“I think you have plenty of company.”

“Do I? Maybe I should take a closer look at my options.” She gave Marian a wink.

“Did you change your outfit?”

Isabella wore her admiral hat, it was oversized and three feathers sticking out of it. Her high boots, tight red coat and white long shirt emphasized her shape and called attention to it. Especially her intricate necklace that seemed to point directly to her chest. She winked knowing where Marian’s eyes were going.

“So what do you want to do today?” Isabella asked lounging. “We could take a look around the Viscount Keep and borrow a few things, or we could have a little fun upstairs.”

“Actually I was wondering if we could meet.”

“That’s what we’re doing right now, sweetheart.”

“I meant actually meet. In real life.”

Isabella lost her smile then, and all the mirth in the room dissipated, even though the other guests kept talking and drinking without any notice of them. She drank from the bottle in the hands then set it down.

“Sorry sweetheart, I don’t do real life.”

“Oh come on. The game is fun, but aren’t you tired of it?”

Isabella’s face became serious. “No,” she said. “I won’t meet you.”

 

The next time they meet, neither of them talks about the Hanged Man. They focus on the raiding mission, Isabella always preferred the mission that involved the high seas. Her affinity for the ocean makes Marian wonder if it was a second home from her. Sometimes Marian wondered if he she had a true home in the world and perhaps that was why she spent so much time in the game.

They made a small camp on the beach as night set. As long as neither of them looked up at the time, the only light was the fire Isabella started with the flint she kept in her pack. Compared to her family’s yearly camping trips, their seaside view was significantly lacking, but it was nice to deal with the cold or the aching muscles she would have felt on real one. The dark water lapped some yards away, adding the ambience.

It was so close to real at times, in the quiet like, listening to the water and crackle of the flames, that if she wanted to Marian could let her think this was true. But then the flames were lukewarm to her skin, and Marian wasn’t even sure if she knew this woman’s real name.

“What are you like?”Marian said still looking out at the water.

“I’m exactly as I am.” Isabella said, not really thinking about the question.

“That’s not what I mean.”

“I told you I don’t like feelings.”

“I didn’t ask about feelings. I didn’t think asking you’re from would be that involved.”

“I’m from Rivain,” She said, “But I haven’t been there in a long time.”

“I’m from Fereldan, but my family moved from there ten years ago.”

“I could tell from your accent.” She said sitting across from her by the fire.

“Have you lived in a lot of places?”

Isabella laughed, her voice taking on a mirthful gaze. “I’ve been everywhere. But I hate flying, if you have the chance, the sea is the only way to go. It’s nothing like these tame rides, you have to get your sea legs first.”

“Tell me about your travels.”

In short order, they were swapping small stories of their regular lives. Isabella’s tales about her various escapades and travels, but the ones she enjoyed the most the crude and dirty. Marian’s were about her family, Carver’s obvious crush on their friend Merrill, her mother’s disagreements with Gamlen, and the antics of their aging family dog. Her stories felt like they came up short compared to Isabella’s, but the way she laughed made up for it.

“I used to married you know.” Isabella said.

For the first time in their conversation, Isabella looked past Marian to the darkness behind her. Thoughtful, but of things faraway from this one beach.

“It’s hard to believe you were married.”

“He was a real piece of shit.” She said, looking down at her cup as if it held all the answers she was looking for.

“You don’t have to talk about him.” Marian said.

“Is it alright if I want to?”

 

By the time Marian took off her headset it was the early morning. She had work in only a few hours, but as tired as she felt she didn’t mind. Her phone buzzed showing she had a message.

“I’ll meet you.” It said


End file.
